Wishes
by Alicia Web
Summary: Childhood friends forced to grow up in a apocalyptic world. Three mothers struggling to keep their babies pure and away from the monsters. After 12 year old Carl and Alicia enter this crazy world they may not stay friends, they may not make it through the hard parts.
1. Chapter 1

**(Alicia's POV)**

~Before the apocalypse~

"Could it be true?" I asked myself as I stared at the television screen. I was currently at my friend Carl's house. My mom, a doctor at the hospital in Atlanta, was at work caring for Carl's dad who was shot in a police accident.

"Of course not." Lori, Carl's mom, said as she came out of the kitchen. "Why don't we watch something else?" I sighed and allowed her to change the channel to Bill Nye the Science Guy. "Run up and tell Carl?" I nodded and took off to Carl's room. Recently he didn't like leaving his room.

"Carl." I knocked on his door.

"Go away." His voice was soft and cracking as if he had been crying again. Sighing I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and picked the lock to the door, a trick my father had taught me before he was sent to fight a war. "Hey!" He yelled as I opened the door and stuck the bobby pin in my hair.

"You expected me to stay out? Did you forget about my skills?" He laughed lightly as he sat up. "You're my best friend. I refuse to let you be sad." Quickly I ran and jumped on his bed making him laugh harder. "Now get up and come watch Bill Nye with me."

"Fine, fine." I smiled and pulled him off the bed. We were watching Bill Nye on the couch when the phone went off.

"I got it!" I called to Lori who was in the kitchen making cookies. "Hello?" I answered.

"Alicia!" My mom's voice gasped. "Thank God." My fingers clutched the receiver harder as gunshots went off behind her. "I'm coming home. Shane is coming to pick me up."

"W-what's going on?" I stuttered as Lori peaked out of the kitchen, a confused look on her face. "Momma?" Lori, sensing my worry, took the phone and handed me the bowl of cookie dough.

"Taylor." Lori said as she gently rubbed my shoulder. "Are you okay?" Lori sighed as an answer was given. "Yes she is….of course….alright see you when you get here." With that she hung up. "Come on Alicia." She ushered me into the kitchen with Carl who was now standing by my side.

"What's wrong?" I asked helping Lori roll balls of dough for the cookies. "Is my mom okay?" Lori nodded and placed her hands on my arms.

"Your mom is fine. Shane is picking her up and then Shane, Carl, your family, and I will go on a roadtrip. Some things are bad in Atlanta right now and until they are fixed we'll go see some sights." She smiled, rubbing my arms. "Okay?" I nodded.

"When will they get here?" The sound of squealing tires answered my question. "Momma!" I yelled running for the door.

"Alicia." Momma caught me in her arms as she came through the door. "Thank God." She smiled at me and pushed my thick brown hair back. "Come on we need to pack." I followed my mom only giving Carl one glance before turning and running with her to the house. "Pack your clothes and any other essentials." I nodded and went to my room, grabbing my Pusheen backpack off the ground. "Alicia?!" My mom called up the stairs as I reached my room.

"Yeah?" I responded pushing the door open.

"Pack a binder of paper and pack your pencils!" I made a small sound dumping everything out of my bag besides one binder and my pencil bag. I had a few bags that were from previous school years that I could throw stuff in too.

 _~10 minutes later~_

"Is that all?" Mom asked me making me nod as I looked over the bags. Along with my three mom had packed 2 full of food and bathroom supplies along with 2 bags of clothing. In my arms was my favorite stuffed animal. I know what you're going to say. Aren't you too old for a stuffed animal? The answer is no. "Good." She sighed, closing the trunk. "Hop in the front and buckle up I'm going to talk to Lori and Shane." Nodding I climbed in the passenger's seat and buckled up.

"Momma!" I called as I noticed a lone duffel bag on the front lawn. She looked back at me as if to ask what was wrong. I pointed to the bag and she smiled, going to pick it up as Lori and Shane got in the car. Swiftly she threw it in the backseat before hopping in the driver's side, closing the door roughly.

"Ready?" She asked, starting the car. I nodded happily even though I knew we weren't going on a trip. It was real and we were trying to escape our fate.


	2. Chapter 2

**(Alicia's POV)**

There was a road block when we showed up. I was told to stay in the car so here I am eating cookies and drinking milk like Santa Claus. Carl was in the car ahead of my mom's, talking to a girl by the name of Sophia. Sighing I placed my Minnie Mouse cup in the cup holder and pulled my knees to my chest. I was cold and tired.

"Mom!" I called out of the window. She looked at me, urging me to go on. "Can you come turn the heat on?" She smiled and walked over, turning on the heat when she got to the car. "Thanks." She nodded before going back to the group of adults, trying to work out a plan. I smiled pulling my sleeves over my hands and laying the seat back so I could take a nap.

I cried out clutching my ears as I sat up. Large things were being dropped on the city. Suddenly I recognized them. Bombs. They were bombing Atlanta. I felt a few tears drip down my face as I watched them drop the bombs on my city.

"Alicia." I turned to my mom as she threw open the door and shut off the car. "Grab your stuff." I did as she said and grabbed my stuff while she grabbed her bags. "We have to go now." I nodded and followed her to the woods where Lori, Shane, and Carl stood with their stuff. We were going to get away from this place but it would be hard.

"Ali." Lori called from her position in front of my mom and I.

"Yeah?" I responded pulling my bag on my back.

"Stay close to the adults." My mom glared at Lori, her eyes narrowing.

"Focus on your own kid, Lori." Lori scoffed and flipped my mom off.

"Maybe if you could take care of yours I wouldn't have to watch over her." Mom glared, her eyes now slits as she pulled me closer to her. "Why don't you let an actual mother take care of her instead of some play mommy." Mom snapped and sent her hand flying across Lori's face. I giggled slightly along with Carl. "Carl!" Lori scolded.

"What?!" He shrugged his shoulders. "You kinda deserved it!" I laughed harder, almost falling over. Lori glared at my mom before grabbing Carl and dragging him with her about 5 feet in front of us. Shane however stayed back making sure everyone was safe.

"Hey Shane?" I asked intertwining my hand with my mom's. "Can I wear your hat?" He laughed and plopped it on my head, adjusting its strap so it would stay on my head.

"We should set up a little camp site here." Shane suggested as I laid on his back. I had gotten tired a while ago and he had suggested putting me on his back. "Let everyone sleep for now and get moving in the morning." My mom nodded along with Carl. You could see the tiredness in their eyes.

"Does everyone have a tent?" Mom asked as she pulled hers and mine from her back. We shared a tent but it was quite large. "I can fit a few more people in this one if we squeeze." Lori glared at her and took hers and Carl's tent out.

"I'll watch over until someone wakes up. Here." Gently he set me down on a fallen log. "You stay here and I'll help everyone set up tents. Okay?" I nodded sleepily, lying down on the log. I could feel my eyes drifting shut.

"Ali." My eyes were forced open as my mom called my name, holding out my backpack. "Do you need to change?" I shook my head. I was wearing my 'Kitty Gang' sweater and a pair of black leggings along with my converse. "Alright." She put the bag next to me before going back to the tent. My eyes yet again drifted shut yet this time they stayed closed, allowing me to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **(Alicia's POV)**

"Alicia. Alicia." I groaned and rolled over as my mom tried to wake me up. "Come on we have to get moving." I sighed and opened my eyes. "Here." She handed me a pile of clothes. "Change then come out and help us pack up the tents." Nodding I looked at the clothes. A pair of army green shorts, a cat sweatshirt, and my converse. I sighed as I pulled off my other clothes and slipped on the new outfit.

"Where do I put these?" I asked as I emerged from the tent.

"Put them in here." Mom tossed me a bag with her dirty clothes which I threw mine into. "While Shane was getting ready for bed last night he met two people. Glenn and Dale. They have a camp near the quarry with other people so we're going there for tonight, see if they are okay to camp with." I handed the bag back to her before helping take down the tent and pack it up.

"Is all your stuff packed?" Nodding I threw my bags in the car. "Good get in." I aimlessly followed her directions and got in the car. I was so tired, weak from the lack of sleep. Curling my feet up I decided to take a nap and just hope for the best. However I couldn't fall asleep so I just laid there and watched the scenery as it passed by.

* * *

"Alicia." My eyes weakly opened only to find Shane with his hand on my shoulder. I guess he was trying to shake me awake. "We're at the camp. Do you want me to carry you?" Nodding I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him pick me up. He seemed nice and my mom didn't seem to think he was super bad so might as well trust him more.

"Here…" I yawned as I put his police hat on his head. "Just so they know who's the real boss here." Shane smiled as I wrapped my little legs around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder. I wasn't tired just weak.

"Thanks kiddo." He whispered as I closed my eyes hoping for a little sleep to come back.

* * *

 **(Shane's POV)**

Holding Alicia made me happy. She was small enough to hold still and she obviously didn't feel good today so I didn't want to force her to walk around and meet people who could potentially kill us. Obviously I wouldn't tell her that though. Gently I rubbed her back as I left the RV.

"Thank you Shane." Alicia's mom smiled at me before going back to a conversation with a Mexican looking family.

"You have a cute little girl." A blonde teen girl said as she and her sister walked up to me. I'm just going to assume they were talking about Alicia who was now passed out and drooling on my shoulder.

"Oh she's not my daughter. I just consider her my little girl because I like her mom." I explained.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wishes**

 **Chapter 4 - Secret Training**

 **(Alicia's POV)**

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to be okay?" I asked as I picked out an outfit for the day. Shane had woke me up a few hours earlier to go do some 'secret training' as he called it. He said I needed to be prepared for anything and anyone.

"Yeah you'll be safe with me, Alicia. Come out when you're dressed. I'll be right outside if you need me." With that he softly unzipped the tent and slipped out before zipping it back up. At first I thought it was a bit strange that he had wanted to do this with just me but Lori seemed to be mad at him at the moment so there was no way Carl could come without trouble.

Silently, hoping not to wake my mom and get in trouble, I stripped down and changed into a pair of black yoga pants, a grey Hello Kitty t-shirt, my red/black sweatshirt, and my Ugg boots with an 'A' inscribed on the front. Once I was finished I slipped out of the tent and pulled up my hair into a ponytail before tapping Shane's shoulder. Surprisingly he jumped.

"Here." He squatted down and held out his arms with his back to me. "Hop on. We have a little walking to do." Smiling I climbed onto his back and draped my arms around his neck. Earlier he had given me my backpack which was now secured on my back. It was quite heavy and hurt my spine but I guess that's just what you have to deal with during training.

* * *

"Alright you have the target in sight?" Shane asked as I zeroed in on our target. While keeping my eyes on it I nodded. "Okay good. Put your finger here." He guided my finger to the trigged before removing his hands completely. "Now take a deep breath and pull the trigger." Again I nodded and steadied my shaking hands. Just as I went to pull the trigger a voice interrupted me.

"What is sam hell do you think you're doing?!" Shocked my finger jerked back and shot a bullet into the walker's shoulder. Quickly I dropped the gun and turned to Lori who was clutching Carl to her side. Behind her was the rest of the group except my mom. "Shane! You cannot lure a little girl into the woods and make her shoot things that can kill her." I grumbled a bit at the last part. I'm 11 not 4.

"I was just trying to teach her to protect herself!" Shane exclaimed while killing the walker. I winced as the goo flew from it's skull. "Someone needs to teach them how!" Lori's hand reached out and grabbed my arm before pulling me towards her making me stumble slightly.

"I'm telling her mother. You will not get away with this." Quickly she pulled Carl and I through the group and to the RV. "Go inside and make up some quick med packs okay?" We both nodded and scurried inside as she stomped off to find my mother.

"Was it cool?" Carl asked once the door had closed. In all honesty, my hands hurt and my ears were ringing. "How did he get the walker?" Shrugging I sat down at the little table and started putting medical supplies into the boxes until one was full. A minute or so later my mom barged in shocking both Carl and I.

"Oh honey! Are you okay? Did Shane hurt you?" My mom asked as she checked me over for cuts or bruises. Once she was satisfied by my perfectly safe body she sighed and sit back. "Why didn't you wake me up? This isn't okay."

"I didn't want to wake you up and have you waste a pill." I eplained shamefully. "Plus I wanted to learn to protect the group." I couldn't help but sniffle as a tear ran down my face. "I wanted to protect you like you protect me." I wasn't shocked when she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close.

"Oh honey." She whispered into my hair. "You're eleven years old. You don't need to learn about protecting people yet."

"But Shane-" She covered my mouth, cutting me off.

"Shane isn't me or your father. You don't go near Shane anymore, okay?" She said before taking her hand off my mouth. Sadly I nodded and accepted the kiss to the forehead before she slipped out of the RV.

"Are you still going to hang out with Shane?" Carl asked as I sipped off my boots and curled my feet up under my butt. Silently I shook my head 'no' before organizing some bandages into a box. "Just because your mom said so?" I nodded and closed the box, pressing the latches together. "Oh. I guess that's cool." He muttered obviously bored of the one way conversation.


End file.
